Dominican marriage certificate: Do you need yours?

Our Dominican marriage certificate service

If you - or a family member - were married in the Dominican Republic, and you now need a new original Dominican marriage certificate, then you have come to the right place. Before completing the form on this page, please take a moment to read our Q&As below, and be sure to provide us with as much information as possible.

The cathedral in Puerto Plata which has original records from 1811

Dominican marriage certificates: Q&A

Legalization Department of the Dominican Foreign Ministry where Dominican apostilles are issued

What delivery options do you offer? We use several services:

Dominican certified mail - Sent from the main post office in Santo Domingo, takes about 2 to 4 weeks to arrive in North America and Europe.

UPS - We generally use them for urgent deliveries to North America, Europe, and the rest of the world.

What type of clients have ordered marriage certificates from you?

Foreigners who got married in the Dominican Republic in Punta Cana or Puerto Plata some time in the past 20 years or so. Many of them now wish to petition for divorce and have been advised by their lawyers that they have to produce their marriage certificate

Dominicans resident overseas

Dominicans and non-Dominicans whose parents or grandparents got married in the Dominican Republic, who now require copies of the marriage record to prove eligibility for citizenship or an inheritance.

Lawyers representing any of the above

What's the oldest marriage record that you've been asked to provide?We had a client from another Caribbean country who had been unable to travel outside his own country for over a year because in order to obtain a new passport, he needed proof of his grandparents' marriage from 1922 for citizenship eligibility. We were able to trace his grandparents' marriage record, and the client is now able to travel.

My mom and dad were married in a church in Santo Domingo: can you get me their marriage certificate? Dominican law has long recognized Catholic (canonical) marriages, but it was only with the introduction of law 198-11 in August 2013 that non-Catholic religious weddings may also be recognized by the state. The church must register the church wedding within 3 days at the nearest civil registry office. As long as your parents' Catholic church-marriage was recorded in a timely fashion, we can obtain their marriage certificate for you.

What if my parents were married in a non-Catholic church? The only religious marriages which Dominican law recognized before August 2013 when law 198-11 came into effect, were Catholic marriages so your parents probably had a civil marriage ceremony before or after marrying in their non-Catholic church.

I can't thank you enough for locating my Dominican marriage record and for being able to send me my original certificate so quickly. How were you able to do this, given that a Dominican lawyer whom I'd paid last year, told me my record didn't exist? It's quite simple. You were married in the colonial zone of Santo Domingo, and you should have been married by the civil judge of the 1st District's registry office, however we know from the photograph of your marriage ceremony that the judge was from the 2nd District, so we were able to trace your marriage record. Your lawyer, clearly, only looked in the 1st District.

The registry office of Sánchez town

Can you arrange or plan my wedding in the Dominican Republic? No, this is not our line of business but if you have any questions we are happy to answer them.

I have been trying to
get divorced for the last 4 years but have mislaid my original marriage certificate. Now my soon-to-be ex-husband claims we had a bogus marriage alleging that our marriage was not legally registered in the Dominican Republic.
The court has now now given me a deadline to gather proof that we did marry in Punta Cana. Please can you help me? No-one else seems to be able to. Thank you and look forward to hearing back from
you.Yes, we can help. If your marriage ceremony was officiated by a Dominican civil judge, you did indeed get legally wed. Please send us the full names of you and your husband, and your date of marriage in Punta Cana, and we'll be able to quote for sending you an original certificate of marriage. It will be legalised by the Dominican Central Electoral Board, certifying the judge's signature, and it will be apostilled by the Dominican Foreign Ministry which makes your marriage certificate and your marriage most certainly legitimate in most of the world, including your home country.

I'm trying to obtain a copy of my Dominican marriage certificate, but the resort where I was married have told me that they don't keep copies & suggested I get in touch with yourselves. It's easy for us to locate a marriage record if we know, as we do in your case, the exact location of your marriage, the date, and the names of the bride and groom.

I am a U.S. immigration attorney. My client got married to [name redacted] on [date redacted], but it is our belief that this marriage was never recorded as my client's bride was already married. The local immigration officer requires documentation that this marriage was never recorded in the Dominican Republic.Thanks, we've already run a search so we know whether the marriage took place or not. As soon as you have paid our search fee quoted in our email to you, we shall be able to confirm in writing the marital status of your client.

Is it possible for you to send me my original marriage certificate which does not show my parents' names?Yes, this is a very short form referred to locally as a CERTIFICADO DE MATRIMONIO. It can only be issued by the specific registry office in whose jurisdiction the marriage took place. We would still have to take it to the Central Registry Office in Santo Domingo for legalisation, and to obtain the apostille from the Dominican Foreign Ministry. Bear in mind that the country where you now live may not accept this shortform certificate as legal. We know from experience that most overseas courts etc prefer the longform certificate which shows the parents' names, and which is called locally an acta inextensa.. So you should check with your lawyer before deciding whether you really want such a shortform certificate.

The Dominican Certification Service is a private professional service and is not in any way associated with any Dominican government department.

If you are considering a visit to the Dominican Republic, you may also
be interested in other services from our sister companies: Dominican airport transfers from Cocotours and, if you are interested in Dominican villa rental, then look at www.dominicanvillas.com